A reminder – this post is the (half-baked) opinion of an individual analyst, not an agreed and published Gartner position. If you are Chinese and you are reading this you might use WeChat daily and Alibaba often. If you are American you use Google daily and Amazon directly or indirectly, often. If you are a […]

Nearly one fifth of the 21st century is behind us already – gosh time flies. Generation Z, those who were born in the 2000s, are now entering the workforce as adults. I wonder what the term “IT” means to them? If they learn by listening to office conversation, they would be forgiven for thinking it’s […]

Just a quick reminder – what follows is one senior analyst sharing some thoughts. It is not a Gartner position. Blogs are un-reviewed personal writings, not published research. In my job as a Gartner analyst I do a lot of international travel. Then I come home to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and her […]

I recently published a Gartner research note of suggested technology related ‘resolutions’ for chief executives (paywall). It’s a list of pointers to things they can consider doing, to help improve their company’s digital business progress. 2019 looks like it might be a turning point year that offers an opportunity for the organisation to pause for […]

Recently I was asked this rather smart question by the CEO of a financial services company. He knows they must embark on a digital transformation journey. Given what we have learned from the experience of others, should he lead the effort with culture change or technology change? The reflexive answer that I expect you want to give […]

Here’s something that I sometimes hear CEOs and other business leaders say – and seemingly without much forethought. “Of course, the technology is the easy bit..” It’s one of those trite phrases that gets picked up and repeated in everyday corporate life, as if they were statements of obvious truth and wisdom, upon which we all […]

It was nineteen-eighty-something. “Information technology, is a societal, epochal technology” said my university lecturer, quoting a translated Japanese author (that made the insight seem even more wise and visionary). Like … wow man. Decades later I find it helpful to reconsider the 60 to 80 year journey that historians call the ‘information age’. It’s not ivory tower […]

Before we get into this important issue I have to declare a disinterest. I’m not a cloud analyst at Gartner. I don’t cover the vendors or their offerings. I can’t tell you which one is best under different circumstances. I have many colleagues who can help you with those decisions. What I do know is […]

Something I’ve noticed in a few interactions this year, has been too much planning for digital business innovation. We meet with some technology and business executives who have been strategizing and planning how to set up a digital business innovation center or capability for months and months.. sometimes a year, or even two years. It’s smart to […]

During his address to the American nation on April 30th 1973, President Richard Nixon provided his now famous line “there can be no Whitewash at the White House”. The analogy of using white paint to cover up a mess was not new, but ever since – journalists and copywriters have been in love with it. In […]